Globalization wields powerful influence over societies and cultures. Business travelers and tourists both observe and distribute new ideas. New ideas, interactions, foods and products are tried, then embraced or discarded. With the internet or satellite television, films, publications, photographs, news reports and cartoons can travel instantly, entertaining or angering audiences around the globe. With social media like Facebook or Twitter, individuals offer news and own instant pronouncements on trends. Whether slowly through immigration or immediately online, these connections bring about some convergence of norms on fashion to human rights while also provoking challenges from traditionalists. A global society has emerged, and it’s tightly linked.

Infiltrators of North Korea: Tiny Radios

Radio, not force, may be the best way to effect change in North Korea.
James Brooke
March 3, 2003

Controversial Findings Rekindle Education Debate

"New PISA data show classes with large share of non-Germans perform below average."
Carola Schlaghec
March 7, 2003

Ultraman Copyright: Big Plans after Japan Court Win

Japan's Ultraman has Thai parentage.
Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn
March 5, 2003

How the Protesters Mobilized

Technological changes may have enhanced nations' ability to wage war, but they have also improved civil society's capacity to organize against it.
Jennifer Lee
February 23, 2003

Reform Begins At Home

Are Saudi Arabia’s recent decisions to allow more political discussion a move towards true democracy, or are they simply calculated political decisions?
Rasha Saad
February 11, 2003